Announcing a workforce plan to take forward the government’s 10-year Children’s Plan, launched in December, Balls quantified the investment the Department of Children, Schools and Families would make in a range of training and development programmes for children’s practitioners.

Balls also produced consultative guidance on strengthening the framework governing children’s trusts, the commissioning partnerships introduced as part of the Every Child Matters agenda which do not have statutory status.

Balls said this was necessary to ensure the ambitions of the Children’s Plan were delivered consistently across England.